jolene abourezk runs the icwa office in rapid city for her tribe, the oglala sioux. she represents parents in court, fights to get cases transferred back to the tribe and places children with native foster families or kin. south dakota removes children from their homes more frequently than almost any other state in the country. >> my clients, they're so scared, anytime they see a social worker it's like seeing an officer, a police officer. it's not like here's some social worker offering to help me and my family improve in some way, the immediate response is they are here to take my kids. joleen believes many of the removals could be avoided. >> we've had grandmas who lived a block down the road who tried to get their grandkids. law enforcement calls dss. if they just place with the relative it can avoid so much. once you get into that system it's just so hard to get out because it's just one thing after another. the crucial moment when a judge decides whether to hold children in custody comes during a hearing held 48 hours after a child is removed. the lawsuit again

tribe.m the oglala sioux i started a campaign to stop suicide from happening.hat i was selected to represent my tribe at the white house tribal nations conference for youth ambassadors. on our reservation, the suicide rate is high. two december we had suicides. i did not want anyone to feel like me and my family felt and we lost our close cousin to suicide. sometimes you need people to step up and make a change. i said i wished all the sad kids to feel like i felt when i pick up a basketball. i want one sad kid to have a smile on their face. >> she was like a celebrity and our little school and our little community. not stop there. she wanted to do more. >> she dedicated her basketball season to the sad kids. >> she used it as a reason to go out there and play hard. >> i think she changed a lot of lives. hkota brown.s da i come from a rural community in california. americans have the least numbers in college. a lot of my cousins and native friends were doing the best in school. i wanted to change that. it became the start of nerds. native education raising dedi